sdiff

PURPOSE

     Compares  two files  and  displays the  differences in  a
     side-by-side format.

SYNOPSIS
     sdiff [ options ... ] file1 file2


DESCRIPTION

     The sdiff  command reads  file1 and  file2, uses  diff to
     compare them,  and writes the results  to standard output
     in a  side-by-side format.   sdiff displays each  line of
     the two files with a series of blanks between them if the
     lines are identical, a < (less than sign) in the field of
     blanks if  the line  only exists in  file1, a  > (greater
     than sign)  if the  line only  exists in  file2, and  a |
     (vertical bar) for lines that are different.

     When you specify the -o flag, sdiff produces a third file
     by   merging   file1   and  file2   according   to   your
     instructions.

FLAGS

     -l           Displays only  the left side when  lines are
                  identical.
     -o  outfile  Creates  a third  file, outfile,  by a  con-
                  trolled  line-by-line merging  of file1  and
                  file2.  The following subcommands govern the
                  creation of this file:
                  l         Adds the left side to outfile.
                  r         Adds the right side to outfile.
                  s         Stops displaying identical lines.

                  v         Begins displaying identical lines.
                  e l
                  e r
                  e b
                  e         Starts ed with  the left side, the
                            right  side,  both  sides,  or  an
                            empty file, respectively.

                            Each time you  exit from ed, sdiff
                            writes  the resulting  edited file
                            to  the end  of  outfile.  If  you
                            fail  to save  the changes  before
                            exiting, sdiff  writes the initial
                            input to outfile.
                  q         Exits the program.
     -s           Does not display identical lines.
     -w  num      Sets the  width of  the output line  to num,
                  130 characters, by default.

EXAMPLES

     1.  To print a comparison of two files:

           sdiff  chap1.bak  chap1  |  print

         This prints a side-by-side listing that compares each
         line of "chap1.bak" and "chap1".  The "| print" sends
         the listing to the print command.  sdiff assumes that
         your printer has wide paper (130 columns).
     2.  To display only the lines that differ:

           sdiff  -s  -w 80  chap1.bak  chap1

         This displays  the differences  at the  work station.
         The -w" 80"  sets page width  to 80 columns.   The -s
         flag tells sdiff not to  display lines that are iden-
         tical in both files.
     3.  To selectively combine parts of two files:

           sdiff -s  -w 80  -o chap1.combo  chap1.bak  chap1

         This combines "chap1.bak" and "chap1" into a new file
         called  "chap1.combo".  For  each group  of differing
         lines, sdiff asks you which  group to keep or whether
         you want to edit them using ed.

RELATED INFORMATION

     The following commands:  "diff" and "ed."